The invention relates to shock absorbers, especially for use in motor vehicles, and more particularly to improvements in shock absorbers having adjustable damping characteristics.
It is known to provide the piston of a shock absorber with one or more passages for the flow of oil or another damping fluid between the chambers at the axial ends of the piston in the interior of the shock absorber cylinder, and to further provide the piston with a bypass channel wherein the flow of damping fluid from one of the chambers into the other chamber or vice versa is regulated by an electrically controlled valve. The damping characteristic of the shock absorber is changed in response to opening or closing of the valve. The arrangement is normally such that the extent to which the valve is opened determines the rate of fluid flow through the bypass channel. Reference may be had to French Pat. No. 1,130,621.